Destination Heaven
The following is a prose-style poetry I attempted inspired by the style of Rabindranath Tagore.
I was not as mature as I am today when I wrote it about 5 years back.
The southern winds while on their pilgrimage to the North, touch me delicately, when I am deep in my thoughts. They prompt me to stay awake- lest I miss the event that I eagerly await: the moment of glory, when you- with your gentle stride, cross through the path of my dreams…….
Ever since the sun broke into the azure sky early in the day, I have been suffering from the animosities of folks, whom I thought were my kith and kin. The very thought of being with them is now crippling my heart- leaving no ground for me to stand upon.
After a day-long struggle to still be alive, here I am, at your feet dieing to live, like an unfortunate sailor full of thirst, who survived a miserable wreckage. I lost all my consciousness and fainted out of distress, with failing efforts to regain my strength.
I know not what happened between the time that I fainted and that when I opened my eyes to see your cherubic face, iridescent with colors of hope, love, surprise, truth, affection, care and support……
And before I could utter the first word of praise, you stroked my hair with elixir-pouring fingers of yours that rejuvenated and invigorated my pain-struck anatomy. With your smooth palm resting on my forehead, I felt like I am in a safe haven, free from the dirt of the world I belonged to……
The hot sun, which hurt me since the early day, has now no more boldness to stay in the sky. With you near me, the hard day has now transformed into an Elysian eve. The melodious songs of the little love-birds in the woods have suddenly come to a halt, when you spoke the sweetest tongue that I have ever heard:
“Be laid O sailor! Don’t try to rise; the harsh winds are over and now the gentle breezes are in. You will be safe in my arms and I shall protect you from the pain…
“Tell me O sailor! Slowly, while you still rest in my hands, of what storms and rains have you been through the day? What sins have you done to be punished in this way?”
The words that you said were let straight into my heart through my ears, and a strange fluid began to run, which finally deluged from my eyes in the form of tears.
And as you were about to wet your warm hands by touching my tears, I held them away fearing that they get hurt.
“O my lady! To you, I shall say, all the words of love I know. This world of hatred and bawdiness has made me lonely and aloof.
“O my lady! The day that I went through was as horrible as my death would be. Venomous snakes all around me were hissing the sounds that have shaken me.
“O my lady! I felt as though my life has come towards its end. I knew not what I was waiting for, until I came into you.
“I had no friends to help me to live. I thought I must die before it was dawn. But now, I feel I am in the Paradise.”
Saying these words I glanced into your eyes-full of dreams. Those innocent eyes with an unknown truth in them were eagerly speaking out to mine. Our eyes then communed in the languages- not yet deciphered by the great human civilization.
Even before it thundered up there in the Heavens, you helped me to stand on my own. And as we gradually began walking amidst the effulgent flower-bearing vegetation of the woods, the clouds touched each other as if a passionate kiss and caused the rain to pour.
“This way, my sailor! Let me take you to the place, where you will forget all your grief and find solace. To you, I promise, you will live again.”
You held my arm with yours and led me diligently into the deeper woods. I felt that I won the battle of my life when, together, we crossed the graceful bridge which ran over the aggressive wild-waters. The care that you had for me was acting like an anodyne for my ever-aching heart.
Just as it grew darker, we were at last at the door of your beautiful shelter: a spiritual cottage, which must have been woven with love and truth. We went inside it and the night was darker than ever. You left me on a couch that was so comfortable and then lit a candle that gloomed like the Divine light. In that bright luminosity, your face, as I saw, looked like the full-moon, only without those dark spots.
“Tell me O sailor! How do you feel now? What shall I do for you to make you forget your hunger?”
“O my lady! What feelings are you talking about? Where is the hunger? I have no hunger since I have seen you… My life has now changed with your advent into it. The rain has never been so pleasant. The night has never been so silent……
“O my love! I have forgotten the miserable screams of the suffered and the hissings of the lethal reptiles. I am free from the cruel intentions of the tyrannical world……
“O my Angel! The monsters have broken my heart and you saved my life. Your love is what I have always been craving for. For you, I survived the fatal war between me and the world.”
“O my sailor! O my lover! Do not say a single word more than that… I know what you have been through all the day; I too, was waiting for you all through the way. Let me give you Love that will soothe your pains. Let me shade your wretched body from the heavy rains.”… The words of love never seemed to cease gushing out of your lips……
And when the time came for me to leave to the Divine Abode, you kissed on my dreary and dead eyes. “Finally”, I thought, “Salvation has separated me from you.
“O what pity! The moments of glory are always ephemeral. The gracious evening was so evanescent while the suffering day was much infinite.”
My soul, for the last time, allowed my heart to love your white body, which was trembling due to the cold of the night. “Let our souls be joined together on the way to reach the All-Pervading. Come out, leave that trembling body and be my soul-mate on my upward journey.”
That was the call of my soul to yours and the last words of love that were ever spoken on this planet.
Far away, a couple of birds started to fly mysteriously to nowhere in the enormous sky.
I was not as mature as I am today when I wrote it about 5 years back.
The southern winds while on their pilgrimage to the North, touch me delicately, when I am deep in my thoughts. They prompt me to stay awake- lest I miss the event that I eagerly await: the moment of glory, when you- with your gentle stride, cross through the path of my dreams…….
Ever since the sun broke into the azure sky early in the day, I have been suffering from the animosities of folks, whom I thought were my kith and kin. The very thought of being with them is now crippling my heart- leaving no ground for me to stand upon.
After a day-long struggle to still be alive, here I am, at your feet dieing to live, like an unfortunate sailor full of thirst, who survived a miserable wreckage. I lost all my consciousness and fainted out of distress, with failing efforts to regain my strength.
I know not what happened between the time that I fainted and that when I opened my eyes to see your cherubic face, iridescent with colors of hope, love, surprise, truth, affection, care and support……
And before I could utter the first word of praise, you stroked my hair with elixir-pouring fingers of yours that rejuvenated and invigorated my pain-struck anatomy. With your smooth palm resting on my forehead, I felt like I am in a safe haven, free from the dirt of the world I belonged to……
The hot sun, which hurt me since the early day, has now no more boldness to stay in the sky. With you near me, the hard day has now transformed into an Elysian eve. The melodious songs of the little love-birds in the woods have suddenly come to a halt, when you spoke the sweetest tongue that I have ever heard:
“Be laid O sailor! Don’t try to rise; the harsh winds are over and now the gentle breezes are in. You will be safe in my arms and I shall protect you from the pain…
“Tell me O sailor! Slowly, while you still rest in my hands, of what storms and rains have you been through the day? What sins have you done to be punished in this way?”
The words that you said were let straight into my heart through my ears, and a strange fluid began to run, which finally deluged from my eyes in the form of tears.
And as you were about to wet your warm hands by touching my tears, I held them away fearing that they get hurt.
“O my lady! To you, I shall say, all the words of love I know. This world of hatred and bawdiness has made me lonely and aloof.
“O my lady! The day that I went through was as horrible as my death would be. Venomous snakes all around me were hissing the sounds that have shaken me.
“O my lady! I felt as though my life has come towards its end. I knew not what I was waiting for, until I came into you.
“I had no friends to help me to live. I thought I must die before it was dawn. But now, I feel I am in the Paradise.”
Saying these words I glanced into your eyes-full of dreams. Those innocent eyes with an unknown truth in them were eagerly speaking out to mine. Our eyes then communed in the languages- not yet deciphered by the great human civilization.
Even before it thundered up there in the Heavens, you helped me to stand on my own. And as we gradually began walking amidst the effulgent flower-bearing vegetation of the woods, the clouds touched each other as if a passionate kiss and caused the rain to pour.
“This way, my sailor! Let me take you to the place, where you will forget all your grief and find solace. To you, I promise, you will live again.”
You held my arm with yours and led me diligently into the deeper woods. I felt that I won the battle of my life when, together, we crossed the graceful bridge which ran over the aggressive wild-waters. The care that you had for me was acting like an anodyne for my ever-aching heart.
Just as it grew darker, we were at last at the door of your beautiful shelter: a spiritual cottage, which must have been woven with love and truth. We went inside it and the night was darker than ever. You left me on a couch that was so comfortable and then lit a candle that gloomed like the Divine light. In that bright luminosity, your face, as I saw, looked like the full-moon, only without those dark spots.
“Tell me O sailor! How do you feel now? What shall I do for you to make you forget your hunger?”
“O my lady! What feelings are you talking about? Where is the hunger? I have no hunger since I have seen you… My life has now changed with your advent into it. The rain has never been so pleasant. The night has never been so silent……
“O my love! I have forgotten the miserable screams of the suffered and the hissings of the lethal reptiles. I am free from the cruel intentions of the tyrannical world……
“O my Angel! The monsters have broken my heart and you saved my life. Your love is what I have always been craving for. For you, I survived the fatal war between me and the world.”
“O my sailor! O my lover! Do not say a single word more than that… I know what you have been through all the day; I too, was waiting for you all through the way. Let me give you Love that will soothe your pains. Let me shade your wretched body from the heavy rains.”… The words of love never seemed to cease gushing out of your lips……
And when the time came for me to leave to the Divine Abode, you kissed on my dreary and dead eyes. “Finally”, I thought, “Salvation has separated me from you.
“O what pity! The moments of glory are always ephemeral. The gracious evening was so evanescent while the suffering day was much infinite.”
My soul, for the last time, allowed my heart to love your white body, which was trembling due to the cold of the night. “Let our souls be joined together on the way to reach the All-Pervading. Come out, leave that trembling body and be my soul-mate on my upward journey.”
That was the call of my soul to yours and the last words of love that were ever spoken on this planet.
Far away, a couple of birds started to fly mysteriously to nowhere in the enormous sky.
-Siddartha Pamulaparty
29/March/2002.
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